duplicate
Americannoun
-
duplicates
plural
-
a copy exactly like an original.
- Synonyms:
- reproduction, replica, facsimile
- Antonyms:
- original
-
anything corresponding in all respects to something else.
-
Cards. a duplicate game.
verb (used with object)
-
duplicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
duplicated,
past participle, past
-
duplicating
present participle
-
to make an exact copy of.
-
to do or perform again; repeat.
He duplicated his father's way of standing with his hands in his pockets.
-
to double; make twofold.
verb (used without object)
-
duplicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
duplicated,
past participle, past
-
duplicating
present participle
adjective
-
exactly like or corresponding to something else.
duplicate copies of a letter.
-
consisting of or existing in two identical or corresponding parts; double.
- Synonyms:
- twofold
-
Cards. noting a game in which each team plays a series of identical hands, the winner being the team making the best total score.
idioms
adjective
-
copied exactly from an original
-
identical
-
existing as a pair or in pairs; twofold
noun
-
an exact copy; double
-
something additional or supplementary of the same kind
-
two exact copies (esp in the phrase in duplicate )
verb
-
(tr) to make a replica of
-
(tr) to do or make again
-
(tr) to make in a pair; make double
-
(intr) biology to reproduce by dividing into two identical parts
the chromosomes duplicated in mitosis
Synonym Usage
See imitate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
duplicabilitynoun
-
preduplicateverb (used with object)
-
duplicableadjective
-
duplicativeadjective
-
nonduplicatingadjective
-
quasi-duplicateadjective
-
self-duplicatingadjective
-
unduplicatedadjective
-
duplicatelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
duplicatesimple
-
duplicatessimple
-
have duplicatedperfect
-
has duplicatedperfect
-
am duplicatingprogressive
-
are duplicatingprogressive
-
is duplicatingprogressive
-
have been duplicatingperfect progressive
-
has been duplicatingperfect progressive
Past
-
duplicatedsimple
-
had duplicatedperfect
-
was duplicatingprogressive
-
were duplicatingprogressive
-
had been duplicatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of duplicate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin duplicātus (past participle of duplicāre “to make double”), equivalent to duplic- (stem of duplex ) duplex + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Duplicate describes something that's an exact copy. If you tend to accidentally lock yourself out of your car, it's a good idea to carry a duplicate key with you just in case. The word duplicate is useful when you're talking about a copy of something, like a duplicate of your birth certificate that you keep in a file, or a duplicate driver's license that you apply for after losing the original one. The verb duplicate is pronounced differently, with a long a sound, and it means to make a copy of or to multiply times two. The Latin root, duplicatus, means "to double."
Vocabulary lists containing duplicate
List 1
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"A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry
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"A Walk to the Jetty," Vocabulary from a novel excerpt
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The ECI has rejected allegations of impropriety in the "special intensive revision", saying it was intended to remove duplicate and ineligible voters.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
We spent many weekends sorting through all the photo albums and loose photos we’d amassed or inherited, tossing the duplicate pictures and trashing my dad’s slides that were impossible to view easily.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The Election Commission says the exercise is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Cohen also acknowledged that she didn’t conduct reviews of the DMV and EDD, because, she said, other agencies were doing those audits and she didn’t want to duplicate their efforts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Like if she used E for the duplicate symbol:
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
Other names are probably duplicates, the government says, while some people may have gone off the grid voluntarily for personal reasons.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
A search for his surname on the DOJ website returns over 2,000 results, though many of those are duplicates, and Elkholy said the files show he only met Epstein 10-12 times over a 10-year period.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
In the iCloud Photos section, tap Manage Storage, where you can merge duplicates and delete large files.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026
“Before you go out and shop, check all the cupboards,” she said, to avoid buying duplicates.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 25, 2026
The mousy brown librarian has sent copies of the Tavernier and the Streeter and even—most remarkably— stencil duplicates of de Boodt’s 1604 Gemmarum et Lapidum Historia, written entirely in Latin.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
She advises people to ask for itemized bills, look for errors and duplicated charges that can be corrected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Its elements have been duplicated, sampled and reimagined so many times that it now exists in countless forms, offering endless ways in.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Nevertheless, some of the works involved are "especially popular and duplicated many times online", making it difficult to exclude them completely from training data.
From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026
Third, ancient CNSs often remain present after genes are duplicated, which is a major driver of plant genome and gene family evolution.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 14, 2026
Sweat trickled down his forehead and chest as he ironed with great enthusiasm, his right arm pushing the iron across the length of the shirt with such vigor that his breathing nearly duplicated Dr. Hyde’s.
From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
But keeping capability at home can mean higher costs, smaller production runs and duplicating what allies already do.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Countries seeking to protect domestic companies are also duplicating efforts, such as building too many different types of armored vehicles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
Instead, it can draw on existing mental components, recombine them, and avoid duplicating work, a strategy that current AI systems generally lack.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2025
Guthy had made a living duplicating audiocassettes for medical conferences and real estate professionals selling home study programs who would then turn around and sell them to customers for hundreds of dollars on infomercials.
From Slate ● Feb. 21, 2025
Sophie grabbed a leaflet and noted that it had been produced on a duplicating machine.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
